Pokecheque wrote:
Rumors abounding that Jake Guentzel will be a Canuck come deadline time. Would be fascinating on a couple levels. One, the Canucks are definitely going for it in that case (which they should), and two, the Penguins are quite possibly pulling the plug.
I'm mixed feelings on this. If they think Pettersson will not resign, then they should go for it. If they believe he will then this team has a 5 year window of opportunity maybe even seven years even managed with those future years in mind. Hughes is 24, Petterson 25, Boeser 26, Demko 28, and JT Miller is 30 and having far and away his best year ever. (I mean who would have thought JT Miller would be a better centre this year than Pettersson?) There are so many surprises on this club but JT Miller playing Selke worthy shutdown defense while having a career best in points is certainly one of the bigger surprises.
To keep that kind of 5 year window open, you have to have young guys playing good hockey on cheap contracts. The Guentzal rumours would be Kuzmenko (for cap purposes); Hoglander or Podzkolzin; and either of their top two prospects. Besides Hoglander, I would be very reluctant to trade either of Podzkolzin or Bains or Silovos off the AHL team and any of their top four prospects who all seem likely to make the NHL. It's those 8 players that will allow them to sign their star players and stay in the hunt for 5 years.
It's really hard to win a cup, I think a team needs to have a long window, and multiple tries and going in on Guentzal does increase their chances this year but reduces their chances for the following 4 years.
Besides I still really think Cole is not good enough for a #3 dman. Hronek maybe gone next year in free agency, finding a player who can play as #2 or #3 dman for a few years at reasonable cost is a higher priority than Guentzal as a one time playoff rental. For that dman I'd be willing to give up serious futures because he helps now, and in the years to come.